The invention relates to a method, in particular, for producing snow, as defined by the preamble to claim 1 and to a device for performing the method.
The invention relates to a novel method and to a hydraulic, electronic and pneumatic device, in particular, for producing artificial snow, ice, or for similar technological processes.
Current methods and devices, particularly for producing snow or ice, have been designed differently, depending on what type of water source they have, e.g., a natural lake, an artificial lake, a river, a reservoir, a spring, etc. These resources have advantages, but also disadvantages. When artificial lakes form, they put limits on use in terms of both time and volume. The actual production of artificial snow is done by a combination of suitably disposed water and air nozzles on the snow device (snow cannon or other snowmaking devices). Production methods that cool or chemically treat the water used for producing snow, or that chemically enrich it, by means of micromaterials are also known. Snow and ice pellets form faster when coated with water. A number of exemplary embodiments of snow cannon, or other snowmaking devices, exist, but the feature they have in common is adjustability in the horizontal and vertical directions. At least one motion can be controlled automatically. The snow cannon, or other snowmaking devices, have a number of nozzles, which are either fixed or rotatable, and are preferably disposed upstream of an airflow source in a directional transit chamber.
The disadvantage of these known devices for producing snow or ice is that they are especially dependent on the temperature and humidity, as well as on the temperature and quantity of service water used for producing snow. The snow produced at below-freezing temperatures, and at 0° C., is wet, and this cannot be improved by existing means, such as production at a higher elevation, using less water, changing the pressure, or cooling the water. Under such conditions, either the production of artificial snow either has to be stopped, or snowmaking has to be done repeatedly at night when the conditions for producing snow are more favorable.
In WO 2007/045467, a device is described in which the medium is circulated and its temperature is increased in the process. This leads to increased energy consumption.